In various orthopedic surgical procedures, bone grafts are often used to repair missing, damaged, or diseased bone. Bone grafts need to be sized, shaped, and oriented properly to replicate the patient's healthy bone. Bone grafts can be autologous or autografts (i.e., bone harvested from the patient's own body) or allograft (i.e., bone harvested from another patient or cadaveric bone obtained from a bone bank). By way of example, bone grafts to repair or replace a mandible can be harvested from a fibula.
Mandibular reconstruction can be necessary in some patients and can occur if the mandible is removed (e.g., for treatment of a cancerous growth). Many traditional mandibular reconstruction techniques rely on preserving and reintroducing parts of the original mandible back into the patient after treatment. Bone plates may be utilized to fuse portions of the original mandible back together, for example.